Mon Dieu! March Harper's Bazaar has abducted stills from the 1957 film "Funny Face". They've been rejiggered to show off the season's new looks with some (purposely I assume) crude collageing and colorizing. It looks terrible, and what's the point?
Bazaar often mines its trove of Audreyiana. She was a favorite of one-time fashion editor Diana Vreeeland (who later became editor-in-chief of Vogue). Photographer Richard Avedon loved her (and vice versa). Diana loved Richard. And so it goes.
Not long ago Bazaar featured Audrey's granddaughter in photographs by Avedon's grandson. Nice attempt at an homage to the originals at least.
I think they tried too hard on this one. The drawings by Bernard Seindler superimposed on the photos are (purposely I assume) crude collages and colorized overlays. One dress even has paper doll tabs. Tiny photos of shoes, handbags and jewelry are strewn about. The quality of the stills is poor. Unless you were a fan of the movie you won't understand the context.
The film was in glorious Technicolor. All the lobby stills I found, unfortunately, were not.
You might say I should lighten up. I might mention that "Funny Face" has been a perfect candy box confection of a treat for 60 years and needs no updates. It also shouldn't be high-jacked in the name of Fashion. Below, evidence that Bazaar may have been extracting their revenge for this:
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| Dovima and Audrey reading on the set |
Wow, those pictures are just butchered! What a travesty to cover up the beautiful outfits Audrey (and others) are wearing in the service of selling some really hideous 70s/80s-inspired fashion! It's not even the right era!
ReplyDeleteI saw Funny Face again a couple of years ago - one of our local movie theatres reruns old movies on the big screen. Great movie.
Thanks for not thinking me a curmudgeon. There's nothing from the 1957 movie that I wouldn't wear today. Black turtleneck + black pants + trenchcoat = c'est magnifique.
DeleteThe contrast between the lovely classics and the current sleaze (in fashion and journalism) is unsettling, to say the least. And the crass audacity of adding the flower to Mr. A's outfit is the last straw.
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Thank you! Enjoyed the article.
ReplyDeleteGood article and I'm grateful they didn't mess with Sabrina!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Somebody did mess with "Sabrina"— an ill fated remake with Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford. Do you even remember it?
DeleteThat remake was so horrible I've tried to erase it from my mind. Why would they try to remake perfection?
DeleteOh, my. I hadn't seen Harpers, so didn't know -- and there is No.Way.In.Hell I will look at it now. How offensive. Agree with everyone's comments, and my first reaction was exactly like your first commenter's: what a travesty. Why mess with success? Funny Face, which on first glance is so '50s, is in fact timeless.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you like to know who thought this would be a good idea???
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